The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that Allied Properties has slashed its cash distribution by 90 per cent, its second payout cut in the past 12 months, as the office and apartment building owner puts a priority on paying down debt and selling properties. The Globe's Andrew Willis writes that late Wednesday, Toronto-based Allied reduced the monthly distributions to unitholders, who are typically individual investors looking for income, to 0.006 cent per unit, or seven cents each year. Last December, Allied cut its distributions by 60 per cent. The price of the REIT's units has fallen by 78 per cent over the past year. "We recognize that Allied's performance has been disappointing for our unitholders and that this distribution reduction adds to that disappointment," said Allied chief executive officer Cecilia Williams in a call Thursday. "We're accountable for improving Allied's financial position, and these decisions are both difficult and necessary steps toward that goal." The distribution cut will boost Allied's cash flow by $126-million a year. On Thursday, the price of Allied units dropped by $1.01 to close at $4.32. Analysts had predicted Allied would cut its payout but were surprised by its scale.